Struggle & Resistance in the Far North
Chapters
- Far North Queensland: New Arrivals & Oppression in an Ancient Land
- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Fight for Justice and Growing up in Edmonton (Queensland)
- Queensland Politics
- Princess Alexandra Hospital Spinal Unit
- People with Disabilities, Education and Family
- Cairns Regional Council
- ALP (Queensland Labor) and Queensland Parliament
- Abortion
- Coal Mine, CSG and Climate Change
- Local Government Corruption
- Child Abuse, Lies and Vindication
- Champion of the Underdog
Struggle and Resistance in the Far North
Struggle and Resistance in the Far North is a glimpse into Far North Queensland’s culture. Rob Pyne gives an account of the region’s hidden stories and prominent identities, all said through the lens of his family history and his life experience. He links the personal with the political in a way few others can.
This story of oppression and fightback takes the side of the underdog in the fight against authority. It shows that it is only through resistance and fighting back that the wrongs of history can be made right.
The early European arrivals had their own problems surviving in a strange and alien land. As the new arrivals prospered and spread, life became more difficult for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who were denied their birthright and denied full citizenship. Just as our first people worked out how to resist authority and fight for change, so would future oppressed minorities.
The battle against discrimination and the struggle for rights would be encountered by slave-labour used in the sugar industry, Italian cane cutters, people with disabilities and women denied reproductive rights.
More recently civil libertarians battling authoritarian government, environmentalists fighting to protect the environment have come forward as part of the progressive struggle. The LGBTI community and Trans activists have and are, likewise continuing their battle for rights.
The struggle for respect, equality and human dignity may never be completely won, but brave men and women with compassion in their heart and fire in their belly will always come forward to be part of the ongoing struggle for the soul of humanity.
Struggle and Resistance in the Far North: About the Author
Rob Pyne was born in 1967. He worked in various jobs, until breaking his neck in 1991, becoming a quadriplegic. After that, he completed a BA in History and Politics and a Law Degree.
A democratic socialist politician and activist, Rob Pyne was born in Gordonvale and raised in Edmonton and today still lives in South Cairns. Rob worked in various jobs, until breaking his neck in a diving accident in 1991, becoming a quadriplegic.
He had lengthy care and rehabilitation in Princess Alexander Hospital, marrying his fiancé Jenny while still in hospital. The pair returned to South Cairns where they have lived in the suburbs of Bentley Park and Mount Sheridan.
Pyne worked at JCU from 2000 – 2007. Subsequently, he was elected to Cairns Regional Council in 2008, serving 2 terms before being elected to the Queensland Parliament in 2015. After electoral defeat he returned to Council, winning Division 2 in March 2020. Rob remains happily married to Jenny and has one child Kate.
Struggle & Resistance in the Far North